Craig Gordon reveals what Deila has improved at Celtic since the start of the season

Celtic have conceded just 15 goals in 31 Premiership games this term, and Craig Gordon has told the Celtic View that head coach Ronny Deila has been working on the defensive side of the game since the start of the season.

“We try to keep as many as we can out,” the 32-year-old goalkeeper said. “We’ve not conceded many goals in any competition really. We’ve been working on that from the very start of the season as the manager wanted us to defend in a slightly different way.”

There may have been some large losses endured by the Bhoys this term - the Champions League qualification loss to Legia Warsaw comes to mind - but in Premiership games especially there have been a host of clean sheets.

Gordon, first-choice stopper, has kept an impressive 24 shutouts in all competitions this term, whilst he has conceded just 29 goals in 44 games.

After some early season stutters, the back-line are starting to really understand Deila’s new pressing system, and the youthful stars of Jason Denayer and Virgil van Dijk are starting to excel. They are not letting their lack of experience show, and they have led to the Bhoys conceding just two goals in their last seven league games.

Deila is clearly keen to see his new system implemented correctly, and there is no doubting that it appears to finally be happening. The players are buying into his tactics, and the only real worry is that their brilliant defensive performances increases the interest in some of the key defensive figures ahead of the summer transfer window.

Billy Hawkins

Billy is a freelance writer who contributes to various sites concerning football. Known to possess an obsession with statistics, Eastern European club sides, and Victorian football, he focuses upon the untapped potential of the Football League in the belief it is more enjoyable than the Premier League.